Blood clots (pulmonary embolism) and stage 4 MBC

There's not a whole lot of reliable data on cancer and clotting; it's mainly anecdotal. I was familiar with it from the veterinary world, so when I was diagnosed with stage 4, I started on one baby aspirin a day. My MO is OK with that dosing.

The bright side is that all those blood thinners seem to impair a tumor's ability to establish a good blood supply.

I'm so glad you got through the episode without any major harm. You are a smart patient.

I just had a pulmonary embolism two days ago..MO is blaming tamoxifen...I also have clots in both arms. MO thinks I need to be on a blood thinner for only three months. Interesting about tumor blood supply. I am going to research that as well. I wish everyone a pain free weekend

so I’m not stage 4 but did end up with DVT and bilateral PEs from the tamoxifen just 2 months after starting it. Discovered as My left calf was cramped terribly for days (unfortunately it was cold & rainy and I chalked it up to that) and then taking a deep breath became increasingly uncomfortable followed by just regular breathing causing chest/shoulder pain. Lovenox given in the hospital and then discharged on Xarelto. Used lovenox as a bridge before a liver biopsy and before hysterectomy & stage 2 recon. Every doc I’ve seen (ER doc, Hospitalist doc, MO, IM, OB/GYN, BS & PS) all agree the standard is 6 months of therapy on blood thinners even though the clots are typically not visible on imaging at 3 months.

Kkrenz--I’d ask just to be sure if 3 months of therapy is the gold standard and if not why aren’t they recommending the tried and true for you.

Erika-did your doc say why you couldn’t take Xarelto or Eliquis instead of Lovenox? The needles in the lovenox shots are crappy and cause pain and bruising. (I deal with insulin needles that length and shorter and the lovenox manufacturer has a lot to learn about making subcutaneous injections comfortable). The only thing I’ve heard anyone mention as a differentiator safetywise is they can reverse the effects of lovenox with potassium...but it still takes 1-2 days. And it takes 1-2 days for the Xarelto or Eliquis to leave the system simply by just not taking it so it’s 6 of 1, 1/2 a dozen of the other. If your MO prescribed it that may be the issue-I learned far more from the IM & ER dr about blood thinners than from my MO. Just trying to look at options so you don’t have to inject...

Lula-thanks for the info...I will enquire at my next appt. I suspect three months only because the clots were very small and essentially asymptomatic. The only reason they were found is that I was experiencing dizziness, so I went through a whole series of scans to ensure adequate blood supply as well as no brain mets. Thankfully....no brain mets. I can deal with small clots. I will have another series of scans in 3 months. Stage 4 folks are monitored very closely. My MO is also a hematologist. Have a good weekend.